Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Suryavanshi - (Source: AFP)
In a significant development, the BCCI has shortlisted 25 players for the U-25 men's high-performance camp. The list, which does not include Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre, was made public on Tuesday, April 7.
The BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru is set to organise an intra-CoE tournament in June and July this year right after IPL 2026 season. The tournament will feature a series of four-day red-ball games and is aimed at identifying the next generation of Test superstars for the Indian cricket team.
What Is BCCI’s New U-25 Tournament?
India U-19 and India Emerging (U-25) will go on red ball tours of Sri Lanka after IPL. There will be a four-team Intra-COE red ball four-day matches strictly for the U-25 side. The BCCI CoE head of cricket, VVS Laxman, will also play a key role in identifying the talents set to emerge out of the tournament.
As reported by PTI, the intra-COE tournament will see the participation of 64 top young cricketers from the country, including India’s U19 World Cup winners and IPL stars Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre. All 64 players participating in the red-ball competition will be under the age of 25.
Among the 64 talents, 25 talents will be from CK Nayudu and U-23 one-day performers. Further, the rest of the Sr selection committie will select 25 more from Ranji, VHT, SMAT who are not in the IPL.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre Not Included In BCCI’s 25 Shortlist Players
BCCI's India U-25 Squad: Ayush Doseja, Yash Dhul, Mayank Verma, Ayush Pandey, Shashwat Rawat, Mahesh Pithiya, Raj Limbhani, Aarya Desai, Siddharth Desai, Aqib Khan, Kartik Yadav, Vidhyadhar Patil, K Himateja, Bhuvangiri Punnaiah, Pukhraj Mann, Yashvardhan Dalal, Parth Vats, Eden Apple Tom, Himanshu Singh, Aman Mokhade
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The list features several new names, but also has the likes of Yash Dhull, Raj Limbhani, and Siddharth Desai, who have played in the IPL before. Notably, the camp will be held at the BCCI CoE, Bengaluru, from 12th April to 7th May 2026.
Why Are Vaibhav Sooryavanshi And Ayush Mhatre Excluded From The List?
As mentioned above, 64 players will be shortlisted by the BCCI. Out of the 64 players, 25 will be from CK Nayudu and U-23 One-Day Performers. Further, 25 more will be from Ranji Trophy, VHT, and SMAT. The remaining 14 players will be from the IPL.
Therefore, fans need not worry because Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are playing IPL, and they will be included in the 14-member list that will be selected from the ones who are playing the cash-studded league.
The Under-19 captain is playing for Chennai Super Kings and has done great so far in the tournament. Meanwhile, the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is representing Rajasthan Royals and opening the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.​
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